Personal Chef To Go's Official Blog

07/23/2014

Personal Chef To Go and the Glycemic Index

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a popular and excellent tool for assisting you in determining which foods are best to eat or avoid for managing glucose (blood sugar) levels or for weight loss. As a Type 2 Diabetic focused on weight-loss, I refer to the Glycemic Index often. Think of it as a popularity contest for carbohydrates. Good carbs are more popular, while bad carbs don’t have many friends. The GI is literally a ranking system for carbohydrates on a scale from 0-100, according to how much they raise blood sugar levels after eating.

Foods with a high glycemic index (100 being the highest) are rapidly digested and absorbed. These types of foods are known to mark fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low GI foods are generally slow to digest and are not absorbed as quickly. They produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels—they also have proven health benefits too. Low glycemic foods help with glucose levels and weight control because good carbs help control and delay hunger so you feel fuller, longer.

High: 70 and up. Examples in this category include instant and long-grain white rice, certain kinds of brown rice, plain white bread, most potatoes, and watermelon, to name just a few. These are foods you’d want to stay away from, or eat only sparingly and earlier in the day.

Medium: 56 to 69. Examples include sweet corn, bananas, raw pineapple, raisins and certain types of ice cream. Foods in this classification should be eaten in moderation. Use your best judgment, though, as falling into an equivalent GI classification does not mean that two foods are equal in nutritional value as well. Case in point – ice cream. More often than not, you should opt for the fruits and vegetables in this classification.

Medication can be extremely expensive and a diet made up of low glycemic index foods can absolutely slash your medication costs. When you eat better, your body works better—this is based on real science and the unique knowledge that food is medicine.

Don’t know where to start? Let Personal Chef To Go help!

At Personal Chef To Go, the glycemic index is one of many tools that we use to ensure that our entrees are perfectly suited for healthy weight loss. That’s because, almost by default, a low glycemic index diet will include more fresh fruits and vegetables, more fiber, more dairy and more lean protein—all foods that offer essential nutrients, and are more likely to be lower in calories in the first place.

If you’re one of those people who cringe at the idea of having to count calories or track what you’re eating, Personal Chef To Go’s meal plans will be extremely beneficial to you. Our chefs work together to make sure that every bite of delicious food that we deliver follows this proven approach for healthier eating.

Let us assist you in reaching your goals!

For these reasons, we encourage you to give us a try (if you haven’t already) if even for just a few short weeks and here are two easy ways to do it:

Ordering our Dinner Only service (5 meals) is a great way to try us out for a week, and it’s just $69.50 (shipping or delivery costs are calculated separately based on your location). Use coupon code "IntroA" and get an additional 10% off your initial order. We'll even take $10 dollars off each meal delivery if you decide on an Autoship order after your first order.

If you're in the the Richmond, Virginia area, you can pop in to our kitchen in Mechanicsville, Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 6PM and pick up a Grab n' Go meal or two to try out. Right now when you buy any 2 entrees you'll receive $2 off any salad!The offerings change weekly so there's always something healthy and delicious to choose from!

The great thing about our low GI menus is that you do not have to wait until you reach your weight-loss goals to start seeing results. The vast majority of our Autoship subscription members see weight loss results quickly, and have reported being able to reduce blood pressure and diabetes medications. Some have even able to come off of them entirely and are able to maintain healthier weight and a healthier lifestyle with one of our Personal Chef To Go meal plan services!